Jill Tarter
Jill Tarter | |
|---|---|
 Tarter at TED. Photograph by Steve Jurvetson. | |
| Born | January 16, 1944 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | University of California at Berkeley Cornell University |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
Jill Cornell Tarter (born 16 Jan 1944) is an American astronomer and the current director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute.
Education
Tarter received her undergraduate education at Cornell University, where she earned a Bachelor of Engineering Physics Degree, and a Master's degree and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley.[1]
Astronomy career
Tarter has worked on a number of major scientific projects, most relating to the search for extraterrestrial life. As a graduate student, she worked on the radio-search project SERENDIP, and created the corresponding backronym, "Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations." She was project scientist for NASA's High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS) in 1992 and 1993 and subsequently director of Project Phoenix (HRMS reconfigured) under the auspices of the SETI Institute. She was co-creator with Margaret Turnbull of the HabCat in 2002, a principal component of Project Phoenix. Tarter has published dozens of technical papers and lectures extensively both on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the need for proper science education. She is credited with coining the term "brown dwarf" for the classification of stars with insufficient mass to sustain hydrogen fusion.[2]
Honors and Awards
Tarter's work in astrobiology and her success as a female scientist have garnered achievement awards from several scientific organizations.
- Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Women in Aerospace in 1989.
- Received two public service medals from NASA.[3]
- Was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2002 and a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences in 2003.
- Received the Adler Planetarium Women in Space Science Award in 2003.
- Was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology in 2001.
- Was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2004.[4]
- Received Wonderfest's Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization in 2005.[5]
- Recipient of a 2009 TED Prize.[6][7]
- Elected a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[8]
In popular culture
Tarter's astronomical work is illustrated in Carl Sagan's novel Contact. In the film version of Contact, the protagonist Ellie Arroway is played by Jodie Foster. Tarter conversed with the actress for months before and during filming, and Arroway was "largely based" on Tarter's work.[1] She has also been featured in John Boswell's Symphony of Science music video, "The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science)".[9]
References
- ^ a b Space.com: "Dr. Jill Tarter: Looking to Make 'Contact'". Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ^ Brown dwarf - History Retrieved 2010-9-24
- ^ CNN: "Scientist probes outer space for aliens". CNN. 2004-04-19. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ^ TIME Magazine: "TIME 100: Jill Tarter". Time. 2003-04-19. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ^ "Sagan Prize Recipients". wonderfest.org. 2011 [last update]. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - ^ "TED Prizes Go From Deep Sea to Deep Space". Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ^ SETI Institute Official Website - Jill Tarter biography
- ^ "CSI Fellows and Staff". Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ John Boswell (melodysheep), "The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science)", February 25, 2010.
External links
- Lecture about long-term SETI strategies presented to the Long Now Foundation (Ogg Vorbis format).
- Finding intelligent life with telescopes and computers, podcast 2008.
- Talk entitled "Why the search for alien intelligence matters", presented at the TED2009 conference
- Interview posted at the TED Blog
- A brief bio
- Profile of Jill Tarter, in COSMOS magazine